Hair waving



Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNiTED STATES- 2,154,925 mun WAVING Alexander L.Wilson, Indiana Township, Allegheny County, Pa., assignor to Carbide andCarbon Chemicals Corporation, a corporation of New York No Drawing.Application June 2, 1937, Serial No. 145,949

7 Claims. (01. low-87.1)

this purpose. This operation results in retention of the modifiedconformation by the hair for an indefinite period of time, and thisprocedure in one form or another is the basis of the so-called permanentwaving of hair.

This invention provides a novel and remarkably eflicacious hair wavingcomposition, and it includes an improved method for application in theart of waving hair. It resides in the use of softening agents for hair,which are aqueous solutions (or emulsions) essentially containingwater-soluble, volatile organic bases, or amines, of the class of whichmorpholine is a typical member, and which are capable of evaporatingwhile exerting a substantially constant alkaline action on the hair; allas more fully hereinafter described.

Many hair waving compositions have been previously proposed, and thelist of alkaline softening agents suggested for use in compositions ofthis type is extensive. In-general, alkaline materials previouslyproposed for this purpose can be divided into two classes, viz. thosecontaining or capable of generating a volatile alkali, specificallyammonia, and those comprising a nonvolatile alkaline material. Thelatter group includes both inorganic alkaline agents, such as sodium andpotassium borates, carbonates, sulfites, phosphates, and the like, aswell as organic substances represented by certain organic sulphonates,and various high-boiling organic bases, such as triethanolamine. It hasalso been proposed to form hair waving compositions in which both avolatile alkali and a fixed base were used in an effort to overcome therespective disadvantages of each type of material. Compositionscontaining alkaline agents of either or both of the two classesmentioned suffer primarily from the same disability, namely, apronounced and progressive change in concentration of the alkalinesubstance during the operations involved in waving the hair. Thosecompositions which contain ammonia per se must have this materialinitially present in high concentration in order that the desiredsoftening effect will be obtained on the hair before the exceedinglyvolatile ammonia has been lost through evaporation. Such compositionsevolve large quantities of ammonia from the containers in which they arestored and handled, and during use. The familiar disagreeable,irritating odor of ammonia is undesirable in hair waving establishments,and the initial high concentration of this substance in the compositionsused causes the solution to exert an undesirably harsh action on thehair and skin. On the other hand, non-volatile alkaline agents, of bothinorganic and organic nature, become more concentrated during the hairwaving operation. Because of this fact, the alkaline action may becomeunduly harsh, and result in serious impairment of the hair structure.Also, in the case of inorganic materials, the alkaline substance mayprecipitate or fuse in the hair itself, and cause it to become brittle,and devoid of its natural life and resilency.

This invention largely obviates the disadvantageous features ofpreviously proposed hair waving compositions, and its benefits will beapparent.

Morpholine, I

CH:.CHs is a mildlyalkaine, water-soluble liquid of moderate volatilitywhich is non-hygroscopic, and which possesses a faintly ammoniacal odor.The boiling point of morpholine is 128.3 C., and it has a specificgravity of 1.0016 at 20/20 C. In 25% aqueous solution, morpholine has apH of about 11.2, and it may be used in the hair waving compositions ofthis invention in concentrations of from 3% to about 30%. Other organicbases suitable for use in accordance with this inventlon may be selectedfrom the addition and substitution products of morpholine which arewatersoluble and basic in character. These products should be chosenfrom the class whose boiling points, or the boiling points of theiraqueous solutions, lie between about and about C. Representative of suchsubstances are 2,6 dimethyl morpholine, N-ethyl morpholine, N- methylmorpholine, N-ethoxy ethyl morpholine, N-vinoxy ethyl morpholine, andrelated alkyl, alkylene, alkyloxy and alkylenoxy derivatives ofmorpholine.

In every case, the active waving composition is an aqueous solution ofan amine of the class indicated above, but other ingredients may beaddedto such solutions or used in conjunction with them- Theseadditional substances may be of the various types previously used inhair waving compositions, and they include thickeners, such as gumarabic, gum tragacanth or rosin, as well as oils or fatty substances,such as mineral oil, lanolin, olive oil, castor oil, and relatedmaterials. Hygroscopic materials, such as glycerol or the'polyalkyleneglycols, may-be used, and the entire composition may be formed into anemulsion with suitable emulsifying agents. A specific example of acomposition useful in accordance with this invention was composed of anaqueous solution containing about 10% to 20% of morpholine. In general,the. waving operation is carried out much in accordance with theprocedures heretofore followed in this art. The hair, after segregationinto tresses, is formed into waves or curls as desired by means'ofmandrels, or curlers, on which the tresses are held tightly in thedesired formation. The hair is then thoroughly moistened with the hairwaving composition and subjected to a heating period of 5 to 20 minutes.In most cases, heating for about 10 minutes is entirely adequate. Heat,in this operation, may be derived electrically, or it may be generatedchemically, or supplied by other means. In some cases, evaporation ofthe solution at atmospheric temperature is suillcient, and no added heatis required. A variation, and a preferred practice, of the wavingoperation may be carried out by wetting the hair with the wavingsolution before it is wound about the mandrel and after it has beenseparated into the desired stresses. In every case, it has been foundthat natural-appearing and lasting waves are produced.

Compositions containing morpholine provide unusual controlof the hairwaving temperature as well as of the degree of alkalinity of the wavingcomposition. Thus, a composition initially comprising a 15% solution ofmorpholine in water, under conditions of use, will not increase to aresidual concentration of morpholine greater than about 20%, nor willits boiling point increase to above about 101 C. Opposed to this,solutions of ammonia boil over a wide range and the temperatureincreases to approach C. when all the ammonia is evaporated, whilesolutions of non-volatile bases have boiling points which steadilyincrease above 100 C. as they become more concentrated.

The production of waves by means of the compositions of this inventioncontaining morpholine, or the equivalent morpholine addition andsubstitution products or other equivalent amine, has been uniformlysuccessful on all types of hair. Even in those cases where bleaching ordyeing of the hair precluded successful'application of waves bypreviously known methods, it has been found that the present inventionenabled entirely satisfactory waving to be carried out. This also hasbeen found to be true in instances where waving by other means hassubjected the hair to such drastic treatment as to damage its struc- Iture severely. The waves produced in almost every type of hair by themethods of this inven-v tion, using compositions containing morpholine,or its equivalents, have been found to be of sufficient depth andcrispness to render subsequent hair dressing very easy. Repeated use ofthe composition of this invention on the same head of hair has shown nodetectable injury to the hair, but instead has brought about a verysatisfactory physical condition.

Modifications of the composition'and procedural features described abovewill be apparent to those skilled in the art, and such variations areincluded within the scope of this invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

I claim:

-1. A composition for waving hair. which is composed of an aqueouscomposition essentially containing from about 3% to about 30% of awatar-soluble, mildly alkaline morpholine, which composition boilsbetween about 80 and about C.

2. A composition for waving hair which comprises an aqueous solutioncontaining about 10% to about 20% of morpholine.

3. Method of waving hair which comprises forming the hair into a wavewhile it is softened by the action of an aqueous composition essentiallycontaining a mildly alkaline, water-soluble, volatile morpholine, whichcomposition is capable of evaporating from the hair while exerting asubstantially constant alkaline action there- 4. Method of waving hairwhich comprises forming the hair into waves and fixing the wave thereinby the action of heat and a softening agent comprising an aqueouscomposition essentially containing a mildly alkaline, water-soluble,volatile amine of the group consisting of morpholine and morpholineaddition and substitution products, which composition is capable ofevaporating from the hair while exerting a subforming the hair into awave while it is softened by the action of an aqueous compositionessentially containing a mildly alkaline, water-soluble morpholine,which composition boils between about 80 and 140 C.

'IJMethod of waving hair which comprises forming the hair into a wavewhileit is softened by the action of an aqueous solution containingabout 10% to about 20% of morph'oline.

ALEXANDER L. WILSON.

